By The Numbers: Criminal Justice Sales Tax Puts More Officers On Patrol

The criminal justice sales tax is most likely to pass in Benton County.

BENTON COUNTY, WA - The criminal justice sales tax is most likely to pass in Benton County.

While three cents for every $10 sounds like more money out of your pocket, our police officers say it means more patrols on our streets. In Kennewick there will be 12 new officers joining the force. They’ll have two new support staff members that will also work in the records department and one new assistant city attorney.

Officers tell NBC Right Now it's the whole package. They say you need to have officers on the streets along with the support from their teams at the station in order to fight crime. That's exactly what they plan to do more of.

In all of Benton County we'll see a number of new workers in criminal justice including 32 new officers, two deputy prosecutors, the establishment of gang prevention programs and a mental health court.

"If all we're doing is collecting reports, then all we're doing is just reporting crime. We want to solve crime, we want to prevent crime and we want to arrest and hold people accountable. That takes bodies and we want to continue to do that; maintain a quality of life here in the City of Kennewick," explained Sgt. Ken Lattin from the Kennewick Police Department.

Currently the sales tax is passing with 53% of the vote. It only needed 50% plus one additional vote to pass. The certification of all the final primary results will take place on August 19th.

In the aftermath of the Barcelona terrorist attack that left 13 dead and approximately 100 others injured, we hear from someone living right here in Kennewick who's from Barcelona, and had family members near the scene of the attack when it happened.

In the aftermath of the Barcelona terrorist attack that left 13 dead and approximately 100 others injured, we hear from someone living right here in Kennewick who's from Barcelona, and had family members near the scene of the attack when it happened.